Dubbed the 'Gentle Giants' of the sea, whale sharks visit the waters of Ningaloo Marine Park on the Western Australia coast between March and July to feed on plankton.
The mass spawning of more than 200 species of coral in March and April each year is part of a chain of biological events that heralds the arrival of the world's fish, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) to Ningaloo Reef. These gentle giants cruise the world's oceans in search of concentrations of plankton. A fully grown whale shark can reach up to 18 metres in length, but more commonly, individuals encountered at Ningaloo Reef are between 4 and 12 metres long. A 12-metre whale shark may weigh as much as 11 tonnes and have a mouth more than a metre wide.
Occurrences of the whale shark are patch and unpredictable. Ningaloo Reef is one of only a few places in the world where they appear regularly in any numbers, in near-shore waters where they are easily accessible to observers.
Whale sharks have thousands of tiny teeth arranged in more than 300 rows, but they neither bite nor chew their food. They are filter feeder, either actively sucking water into their mouths or cruising along near the surface of the water with their large mouths agape.
Whale sharks are ovovivipararous, bearing live young which hatch from an eggcase while inside the mother's body before being expelled.
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